Welcome to Mrs. Oelke's Website!

To those of you who are Spanish students:

Here is some food for thought...

"I speak English, so I don't have to learn a foreign language...."

Everyone speaks English, right? Well, certainly not everyone speaks English. According to the CIA World Fact Book, only 5.6 % of the world's total population speaks English as a primary language. That number doubles when people who speak English as a second or third language are counted. By conservative estimates, that means that well over four-fifths of the world's population does not speak English.
If the world's population totaled 1,000 people, the distribution would be as follows: 564 Asian. 210 European, 86 African, 80 South American, 60 North American -- meaning the United States, Canada and Mexico.
We know that more than 320 million people speak English, but did you know that 266 million speak Spanish, 189 million Bengal, 182 million Hindi and 885 million Mandarin Chinese?
Read more: What's the importance of learning a foreign language? | The Business Journal

The attitude that English alone is enough in fact creates self-imposed limitations. To remain monolingual is to stunt your educational development, to restrict your communication and thinking abilities, and to deny yourself the ability to fully appreciate and understand the world in which you live. Learning another language opens up new opportunities and gives you perspectives that you might never have encountered otherwise. Personal, professional, social, and economic considerations all point to the advantages of learning foreign languages. (Why You Need to Learn a Foreign Language, Edward Trimmel)

To those of you who are English students:

In the words of the famous Dr. Seuss, "The more you read, the more things you'll know. The more you know, the more places you'll go."
Do I need to say more? Read, read and read until your eyes turn cross! Your brain will thank you.

To those of you who are Speech Team members:

Every single person (mothers, managers, lawyers, construction workers) need public speaking skills. It simply isn't enough to read about an idea or just believe in it. Ideas need a voice to grow and thrive in order to make it understood and believed.